The Ras protein is part of a signalling pathway that links cell surface growth factor receptors to nuclear signals initiating cellular proliferation. Biological and biochemical studies of Ras action indicate that Ras functions like a G-regulatory protein. In the inactive state, Ras is bound to GDP. Upon growth factor receptor activation Ras is induced to exchange GDP for GTP and undergoes a conformational change. The GTP-bound form of Ras propagates the growth stimulatory signal until the signal is terminated by the intrinsic GTPase activity of Ras, which returns the protein to its inactive GDP bound form (D. R. Lowy and D. M. Willumsen, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 62:851-891 (1993)). Mutated ras genes are found in many human cancers, including colorectal carcinoma, exocrine pancreatic carcinoma, and myeloid leukemias. The protein products of these genes are defective in their GTPase activity and constitutively transmit a growth stimulatory signal.
Ras must be localized to the plasma membrane for both normal and oncogenic functions. At least 3 post-translational modifications are involved with Ras membrane localization, and all 3 modifications occur at the C-terminus of Ras. The Ras C-terminus contains a sequence motif termed a "CAAX" or "Cys-Aaa.sup.1 -Aaa.sup.2 -Xaa" box (Cys is cysteine, Aaa is an aliphatic amino acid, the Xaa is any amino acid) (Willumsen et al., Nature 310:583-586 (1984)). Depending on the specific sequence, this motif serves as a signal sequence for the enzymes farnesyl-protein transferase or geranylgeranyl-protein transferase, which catalyze the alkylation of the cysteine residue of the CAAX motif with a C.sub.15 or C.sub.20 isoprenoid, respectively. (S. Clarke., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 61:355-386 (1992); W. R. Schafer and J. Rine, Ann. Rev. Genetics 30:209-237 (1992)). The Ras protein is one of several proteins that are known to undergo post-translational farnesylation. Other farnesylated proteins include the Ras-related GTP-binding proteins such as Rho, fungal mating factors, the nuclear lamins, and the gamma subunit of transducin. James, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269, 14182 (1994) have identified a peroxisome associated protein Pxf which is also farnesylated. James, et al., have also suggested that there are farnesylated proteins of unknown structure and function in addition to those listed above.
Inhibition of farnesyl-protein transferase has been shown to block the growth of Ras-transformed cells in soft agar and to modify other aspects of their transformed phenotype. It has also been demonstrated that certain inhibitors of farnesyl-protein transferase selectively block the processing of the Ras oncoprotein intracellularly (N. E. Kohl et al., Science, 260:1934-1937 (1993) and G. L. James et al., Science, 260:1937-1942 (1993). Recently, it has been shown that an inhibitor of farnesyl-protein transferase blocks the growth of ras-dependent tumors in nude mice (N. E. Kohl et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 91:9141-9145 (1994).
Indirect inhibition of farnesyl-protein transferase in vivo has been demonstrated with lovastatin (Merck & Co., Rahway, N.J.) and compactin (Hancock et al., ibid; Casey et al., ibid; Schafer et al., Science 245:379 (1989)). These drugs inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, the rate limiting enzyme for the production of polyisoprenoids including farnesyl pyrophosphate. Farnesyl-protein transferase utilizes farnesyl pyrophosphate to covalently modify the Cys thiol group of the Ras CAAX box with a farnesyl group (Reiss et al., Cell, 62:81-88 (1990); Schaber et al., J. Biol. Chem., 265:14701-14704 (1990); Schafer et al., Science, 249:1133-1139 (1990); Manne et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA, 87:7541-7545 (1990)). Inhibition of farnesyl pyrophosphate biosynthesis by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase blocks Ras membrane localization in cultured cells. However, direct inhibition of farnesyl-protein transferase would be more specific and attended by fewer side effects than would occur with the required dose of a general inhibitor of isoprene biosynthesis.
Inhibitors of farnesyl-protein transferase (FPTase) have been described in two general classes. The first are analogs of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), while the second class of inhibitors is related to the protein substrates (e.g., Ras) for the enzyme. In the peptide derived class of inhibitors, a subclass of inhibitors has been described which generally comprises cysteine containing molecules that are related to the CAAX motif that is the signal for protein prenylation. (Schaber et al., ibid; Reiss et. al., ibid; Reiss et al., PNAS, 88:732-736 (1991)). Such inhibitors may inhibit protein prenylation while serving as alternate substrates for the farnesyl-protein transferase enzyme, or may be purely competitive inhibitors (U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,851, University of Texas; N. E. Kohl et al., Science, 260:1934-1937 (1993); Graham, et al., J. Med. Chem., 37, 725 (1994)). In general, deletion of the thiol from a peptidyl CAAX derivative has been shown to dramatically reduce the inhibitory potency of the compound. However, the thiol group potentially places limitations on the therapeutic application of FPTase inhibitors with respect to pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and toxicity. Therefore, a functional replacement for the thiol is desirable. With the exception of a group of antibiotics known as the pepticinnamins (Omura, et al., J. Antibiotics 46:222 (1993)), non-thiol FPTase inhibitors that are competitive with the Ras substrate have not been described.
Another subclass of the peptide derived inhibitors which comprises peptidomimetic compounds wherein the central AA portion of the CAAX motif has been replaced by 3-aminobenzoic acid and 3-aminomethylbenzoic acid spacers has recently been described (M. Nigam et al. J. Biol. Chem., 268:20695-20698 (1993), Y. Qian et al. J. Biol. Chem., 269: 12410-12413 (1994)). FPTase peptidomimetic inhibitors further lacking a C-terminus peptidyl moiety (wherein the X peptide has been replaced by a non-peptide moiety) have also been recently described (A. Vogt et al. J. Biol. Chem., 270:660-664 (1995)). All of the compounds in this second subclass of peptide derived inhibitors retain the thiol moiety.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to develop non-peptide compounds that do not have a thiol moiety, and that will inhibit farnesyl-protein transferase and thus, the post-translational farnesylation of proteins. It is a further object of this invention to develop chemotherapeutic compositions containing the compounds of this invention and methods for producing the compounds of this invention.